The Hechinger Report

JUNE 11, 2017

Social Studies teacher Michelle Adler talks to sophomores Maiya Schwartz, left and Emily Terranova about an assignment in an Honors Human Geography class at Gray-New Gloucester High School on Thursday, June 1, 2017. Michelle Adler, social studies teacher and local union president, Gray-New Gloucester High School.

High School 70

High School Social Studies Leadership Tradition 70

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 1, 2021

Under a first-in-the-nation law that took full effect this year, students from across the state must take part in at least two “student-led, nonpartisan civics projects” — one in eighth grade, and another in high school. Peyton Amaral, an eighth grader at Morton Middle School in Fall River, Mass., Credit: Christopher Blanchette.

Civic Engagement 142

Civic Engagement Civics Teaching Middle School 142

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 5, 2018

Laci Hargrove, 18, who fell short of the high school credits she needed to graduate, moved straight from high school to a HiSET-prep program that also provides her with needed social supports. When she was ready to return to school, she didn’t want to sit in sophomore-year classes. My grades were perfect.

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High School K-12 Tutoring Elementary School 67

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 12, 2022

Related: Teachers go to school on racial bias. Still, my love of history had an outlet in school. Social studies was the class I excelled in because it felt most meaningful. My friends who struggled the most in school had passions and interests that were never reflected in their classwork.

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Heritage Artifacts Local History Social Studies 133

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 8, 2021

2nd grade social studies. High school Advanced Placement. Each concluded that students who learned science and social studies through a detailed project-based curriculum over the course of a year posted higher achievement scores than those who learned those subjects the way teachers in their schools usually taught them.

Project-Based Learning 145

Project-Based Learning Middle School Social Studies High School 145

The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 15, 2024

After the No Child Left Behind Act, social studies and civics were sidelined in favor of reading and math. Teachers in social studies and civics tend to be among the least supported, and often have to take on coaching or administrative roles in addition to their teaching duties.

Civics 120

Civics Teaching K-12 Social Studies 120

TCI

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

By 2014, a large-scale study found that students in active learning environments scored 6 percent higher on exams and were 1.5 times less likely to fail than those in traditional lecture-based classes. times less likely to fail than those in traditional lecture-based classes.

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K-12 Education Critical Thinking Tradition 52

Teaching American History

MAY 6, 2025

Now, having taught social studies for two years at Oakcrest School in Vienna, Virginiaan independent girls school in the Catholic traditionshe knew what she didnt know. After a busy career in law, he had reduced his practice and taken up teaching history at the high school Boles graduated from in Pasadena, California.

Primary Sources 52

Primary Sources American History Library Government 52

The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 17, 2018

The type of text analysis he guides his students through is far more common in colleges and graduate-school programs, but the coding that makes it possible is an increasingly popular skill to teach children. Fifteen states now require all high schools to offer computer science courses. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

Humanities 111

Humanities K-12 Tradition Private School 111

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 26, 2020

With so much confusion and anxiety, both education experts and parents are urging schools to make remote learning as simple as possible. Simplicity is especially important to families with kids in middle and high school, where a student might shift between four to seven classes. “It

High School 141

High School Interactive Learning Social Studies Tradition 141

Dangerously Irrelevant

JULY 25, 2021

Our goal was to try and parse out What do leaders at innovative schools do that is different from their counterparts in more traditional schools ? One of the most important resources that schools have is time. As Tom noted, it’s like “a college schedule in a high school environment. Excerpt 05.

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Leadership Tutoring Tradition Social Studies 110

Let's Cultivate Greatness

DECEMBER 10, 2024

Here are some of my favorite lessons and activities for teaching the executive branch in my high school Civics and Government class. Its a bit complicated, which means it also offers great opportunities to practice critical thinking and social studies skills. But first, lets go over what the branch does exactly.

Civics 52

Civics Government Critical Thinking Social Studies 52

HistoryRewriter

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

See Chapter 15 in the Social Studies Edition. Our special guest will be Camarillo High School history teacher Mike Hernandez. To recap, when I follow the traditional Retell in Rhyme EduProtocol, I use these steps. In this post, I want to introduce a new differentiation strategy I am calling Reverse Retell in Rhyme.

Primary Sources 130

Primary Sources Social Studies Tradition History 130

The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 29, 2020

“Who is the school board really representing? Vida Mendoza, high school freshman, Oakland, California. Jessica Ramos, a 17-year-old senior at Skyline High School in Oakland, California, sits outside the Oakland Town Hall with her dog Lucky. Things … the government does affect us, but we can’t vote,” she said.

Civics 143

Civics Civic Engagement High School Government 143

ED Surge

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

When a public school system in the San Francisco Bay Area explored replacing traditional grading practices with a form of “standards-based grading system” meant to eliminate bias, it sparked widespread opposition from parents. They signed petitions and showed up in force at school board meetings to rail against the changes.

Middle School 143

Middle School High School Teaching Social Studies 143

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 19, 2024

It’s also harder to keep up with the traditional pace of instruction when so many students are behind. One high school math teacher told me that she thinks learning failed to recover and continued to deteriorate because schools didn’t rush to fill the gaps right away. These kids just missed 18 months of school.

Tutoring 145

Tutoring Psychology Elementary School Research 145

The Hechinger Report

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Davida Walls never thought she would be teaching high school biology, let alone in the first few months after graduating from college at 22. I would hire every qualified licensed teacher, our schools would, that we could find. Students walk the halls of Helena-West Helena’s Central High School between class periods.

Charter School 111

Charter School Tradition Public School High School 111

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 23, 2019

While Vertus High School doesn’t assign homework, Clovis Meikle, 17, says he works on his online classes at home to get ahead in advance of basketball season. Before Michael Mota goes to sleep each school night, the 17-year-old lies in bed thinking through his plan for the next day. Tara García Mathewson/The Hechinger Report.

Charter School 111

Charter School Advocacy Middle School High School 111

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 6, 2017

Our nine districts have been considering free or low-cost open educational resources alongside traditional options. All of our districts are members the members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, an 86-district coalition recognized for innovation and leadership in education.

Lesson Plan 104

Lesson Plan Professional Development Tradition Middle School 104

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 3, 2016

In the middle of all this activity, seventh-grader Jacob Higuera sat alone with his laptop, intently typing out a social studies assignment. It was only the fifth day of school, but he was already getting used to this unconventional classroom setup. Miranda Virgil, seventh-grade math teacher at Canyon Ridge Elementary School.

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Elementary School Tutoring Middle School Tradition 111

The Hechinger Report

APRIL 24, 2023

schools, especially those that serve low-income children, have moved in the opposite direction. Educators have felt pressure to cut time for science, social studies and the arts in order to carve out more time for reading and math, the two subjects that are tested annually by every state and by which schools are judged.

Charter School 142

Charter School Geography Public School Private School 142

ED Surge

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

It can bring traditional textbooks to life by adding interactive elements like videos, models or supplementary information to printed pages. Heather Brantley, an instructional technologist and teacher at a Texas junior high school, recognizes the value of integrating augmented reality tools into her lessons.

EdTech 130

EdTech Junior High Geography Critical Thinking 130

The Hechinger Report

APRIL 25, 2023

I’m a former high school teacher, and professors have a lot more say in the decisions that impact their jobs,” he said. Schools vary, but in schools where teachers have more voice, there is better retention.” And we build a school around the belief that teachers are the ones who should be making decisions.”

Charter School 139

Charter School Government Sociology Social Studies 139

The Hechinger Report

APRIL 21, 2019

Senior Remi Savard is part of the last class at Montpelier High School that experienced the system before the school’s switch to a proficiency-based model. Remi Savard is one of the last students at Montpelier High School who remembers what class was like before the school switched to a proficiency-based model three years ago.

High School 100

High School Tradition Professional Development Social Studies 100

The Hechinger Report

JUNE 18, 2018

Wess Wheeler (L), an independent learning opportunity student at Randolph Union High School, and Miles Hooper, manager and co-owner of Ayers Brook Goat Dairy farm, among the goats. Just 10 years ago, he was kicked out of his Vermont public school and finished at an alternative high school in Maine. RANDOLPH, Vt.

High School 107

High School Economics Tradition Public School 107

ED Surge

OCTOBER 7, 2024

One cause is the pandemic, and how it disrupted middle and high school for today’s traditional-aged college students. With the flexibility that came with pandemic-era school, they’re not used to firm deadlines or strict grading. That was one of my favorite classes.”

K-12 128

K-12 Teaching High School Social Studies 128

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 26, 2018

August 15, 2018 — The first day of school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. School systems are failing their students with outdated and inconsequential civics education that is only focused on facts and memorization. What should schools do? Photo: Carl Juste/TNS via ZUMA Wire.

Civics 93

Civics Civic Engagement Government High School 93

Digital Promise

DECEMBER 14, 2016

One school district stands out as a model of implementation: Loudoun County (VA) Public Schools (LCPS). Since 2005, LCPS had participated in the Geospatial Semester program through James Madison University, which taught GIS to hundreds of high school seniors (and even juniors) through a project-based approach.

Education 107

Education K-12 Middle School Professional Development 107

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 23, 2019

on day four of the strike, Nadia Morales, a counselor at Los Angeles High School, and Pedro Martinez, a social-studies teacher at Eagle Rock High School, prepare their children for the day. It is impossible not to ask such questions at LA High. Before, schools were just academic. At 7 a.m.,

Charter School 111

Charter School Public School High School Elementary School 111

The Hechinger Report

SEPTEMBER 11, 2016

11, 2001, high school social studies teacher and football coach Robert Lake stood outside with students waiting to get picked up from school. Lake and his high school students watched the world change that day. But even then, teachers of traditional U.S. Photo: Chris Hondros/Getty Images.

History 75

History Social Studies Museum Civics 75

The Hechinger Report

MAY 1, 2020

In the past, this bar has been too high for many would-be teachers, especially those who come from high-need areas. And, as is the case nationwide, enrollment in the state’s schools of education has declined , despite shortages. Related: A major test for would-be teachers will de-emphasize the more difficult math sections.

Education 114

Education Elementary School Social Studies Leadership 114

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 1, 2018

Students have access to hundreds of courses while they are in Illinois’ juvenile justice facilities, but they tend to focus on math, language arts, social studies and science. Students technically have access to hundreds of courses, but Jones-Redmond said the district focuses on math, language arts, social studies and science.

Social Studies 82

Social Studies Tradition American History High School 82

The Hechinger Report

APRIL 19, 2019

Ragan Toppan, a junior at Deering High School, took part in a walkout last fall to protest a change in the school’s grading policy. This past fall, Ragan Toppan, 16, walked out of her Algebra II class at Deering High School to protest her school’s recent switch to standards-based grading.

High School 111

High School Tradition Cultures Advocacy 111

ED Surge

MAY 8, 2023

Although it’s not as obviously contentious as say, social studies, educators and researchers (not to mention students and families) have strong feelings about math instruction (remember New Math ? Or even newer math ?) and competing ideas about why so many kids struggle with this core subject. isn’t working.

K-12 135

K-12 Critical Thinking Middle School Pedagogy 135

ED Surge

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

I first acknowledged it subconsciously in my middle school years. Social studies and history classes weren't just academic discourse, they were social and emotional experiences. The absence of elephants from middle and high school curricula limits intellectual representation for students.

History 107

History Tutoring Pedagogy American History 107

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 28, 2019

NOME, Alaska — Before they got down to business for the day, students in Devin Tatro’s social studies class were offered a quiet moment of self-reflection: On this golden fall afternoon at Nome-Beltz Junior/Senior High School, were they feeling chipper, distressed or somewhere in between?

Social Studies 99

Social Studies Public School Charter School High School 99

The Hechinger Report

MAY 2, 2020

Now nearly 400 schools use it across 40 states. Nearly 400 schools use the Summit Learning Program across 40 states. Since 2017, Summit has revised its middle and high school curriculum and teachers routinely say it’s high-quality. But at Rhodes, Christie doesn’t hear complaints like that. It’s a mindset shift.”.

Junior High 134

Junior High Charter School Elementary School Social Studies 134